Enjoy the calling of analysis from pundits stupid, as it regularly is. Will only make these pundits double down, but they will never be in a rush to praise United anyway. Shearer by no means the worst of them.
Erik ten Hag | 2024/25
- Thread starter Cheimoon
- Start date
Quietly enjoying what ETH is building under the new structure (and to be fair, from before too)
Already a lot of experience between them, and (Martinez/MDL aside) they won't even be hitting their prime for a few years.
Got to accept they'll be growing pains in the meantime and inconsistent performances at times, but even then two trophies in two years and a squad in the ascendancy.
-- Hojlund (21) ---
Garnacho (20) ----- Mainoo (19) ----- Amad (22)
Kone (18) ------ Ugarte (23)
LB ----- Martinez/MDL ----- Yoro (18) ---- RB
GK
Already a lot of experience between them, and (Martinez/MDL aside) they won't even be hitting their prime for a few years.
Got to accept they'll be growing pains in the meantime and inconsistent performances at times, but even then two trophies in two years and a squad in the ascendancy.
-- Hojlund (21) ---
Garnacho (20) ----- Mainoo (19) ----- Amad (22)
Kone (18) ------ Ugarte (23)
LB ----- Martinez/MDL ----- Yoro (18) ---- RB
GK
Cheers mate. Interesting that you consider EtH on par with Cruyff. Like you said about being ahead of de Boer and Koeman, I wonder whether majority of Ajax fans will agree with your EtH-Cruyff appreciation.
He was certainly my favourite option over Poch and Rose to take over after Rangnick's interim. It's sad that it really hasn't worked out for him at Utd as we had hoped. Even with hindsight I still believe he was the best available manager at the time of his appointment, I don't see anyone else available at the time who would have done a better job. Yet, I don't see him doing any better than he has done so far. We will certainly be better than last season (hard to do worse with that squad) but I don't see us challenging for anything beyond 4th, and even that might be a chore to achieve.
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And this Erik, is why you’ve had control over transfers significantly reduced.
Can’t say the man doesn’t love himself a workhorse with limited talent though. Antony, Weghorst, Mount, Amrabat, Mctominay…
His desire to die on the Rashy hill is also going to end up costing him his job.
No doubt he's been waiting to have a go at Shearer since that interview after the FA Cup final 
McT issue was never that he didn't deserve to be in the squad, it was that we really needed better quality starters.
Even Sir Alex appreciated many players that were graft over talent, and if we're being honest, McT has bailed us out often. Add to the fact that he has been here 22 years, and yeah there's a host of other players I'd see gone before him.
Another Ajax supporter that agrees. Don't forget during Cruijff's reign it was way easier to keep players and tournaments were with way less teams. In the end, trophies count but what ETH did in 2018/1019 was a bigger deal than the cups in 1987 en 1992. One could argue even 1995 was easier back then. The Bosman arrest really fecked clubs from smaller leagues.
Regarding FdB: We should all be grateful he gave Ajax 4 championships and the CL money that came along with that. The football was a snoozefest after the first 2 seasons but without that money generated Overmars could not have given ETH and Bosz the squads needed to do what we did.
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At this time, I'd never even heard of Eth. But it seemed like 90% of our fanbase thought he was 'that guy'. What was this based on?
I wanted Poch. I was impressed with how he had Spurs playing in those games vs Juve in the CL, I thought Spurs looked class. So I wanted Poch here to get us playing like that.
Fair enough, but he isn't even half the player Fletcher was. Chips in with the odd goal, but limited in every other aspect.
Very true, the landscape of European football has changed a lot since that time in favour of teams from the bigger leagues. Still Cruijff is credited with implementing a transformational style of play which brought long-term success to Ajax, I don't know whether EtH can be credited similarly.
Fletcher was miles better than McTominay!
Wasn't the issue that McTominay wanted to leave because he wanted more game time than he was likely to get?
He's a staunch defender of underperforming players, that's fine. But it's unfortunate, the players he 'puts an arm around' like Rashford and Sancho in the past, don't reciprocate that faith.
Yeh, I hope there’s loads of fight and “fu.k you kind of apathy towards pundits. They were just the worst last season so he’s nothing to lose by calling them the thick rag paper narrative numpties they are.
I think people on here, or outside the Netherlands in general, keep forgetting or not fully realizing how important style of play is at Ajax. Someone like Mourinho, even if he won everything there is to win, could never be considered a great Ajax coach. Successful, sure, but not great; that requires entertaining, attacking football as well.
And so many on here keeping talking about De Boer as if he was considered a great coach in the Netherlands, while he actually never had that reputation.
He seemed to do a massive u-turn on him as in his first season he barely used him once he settled in, even with non-stop games and the midfield crying out for a rest.
All in all Cruijff IS Ajax. Johan has done more for us than anyone else. Without Cruijff no 4 CL cups, without Cruijff not the most influential academy in the world. (LVG's win in 1995 was made possible by what Cruijff had done with our youth academy the years before) Cruijff was the one that started the velvet revolution in 2011 which was the start for 2017/2022. When we reached the semis in 2019 I looked up and said to myself: "You did it, big man. You helped us out once more."
But purely looking at what he achieved with Ajax as a trainer that was not on par as what he did as player or as the conscience of Ajax after all that.
I once said (I believe it was in 2013) that FdB is a great coach but not for Ajax. I still firmly stand by the latter, not so sure about the former but we should be eternally grateful for what he did for Ajax as coach.
ETH is always going to defend his players, no matter how poorly they are playing ( ie Rashford ).
After the media meltdown after the Sancho reply who can blame him ?
Does not mean you have to start him every game though.
After the media meltdown after the Sancho reply who can blame him ?
Does not mean you have to start him every game though.
Totally agree with this. Only a fool wouldn't see what we see but no way can he come out and say the guy is lazy and coasting through these years.
Keep the atmosphere positive and keep discussions behind doors, I've no doubt rashford knows the real thoughts.
I'm not defending Hag as I'm pretty sick of him, but most managers would do this.
You never know what is behind the words but if he really believes it is a bad idea to sell McTominay for this kind of money and Rashford should not be criticized I really question his abilities as football manager on this level.
Quite promising that Ashworth didnt care about ETH's opinion on McTominay and it seems has kept him in the dark over Sancho.
I watched the whole interview, when did he say it was a bad idea?
Do you honestly believe he wouldn't stick up for his players to the press? Especially Shearer? Come on.
Bit of a stretch
Its astonishing that in one interview you both expect him to essentially come out and say took rashford off because he was crap, sold McT because he was shit and they are doing there best to sell Sancho because he is a waster. Get a grip, you cleary have no idea about management.
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Where's the white text?Transition till when, should be the question?
Who are you even talking to
Posted this a few posts up, this is the team that he is building:
For a ridiculously young team there is already experience there, and trophies. In a few years when they are hitting their prime we will be competing with the best.
In the next years there will be some good performances and some that aren't. Inconsistency is part of the growing pains with young players.
-- Hojlund (21) ---
Garnacho (20) ----- Mainoo (19) ----- Amad (22)
Kone (18) ------ Ugarte (23)
LB ----- Martinez/MDL ----- Yoro (18) ---- RB
GK
"We are in transition, lots of young players, injuries, McTominay and Sancho were huge losses to the squad"
You got quoted so what do you think
If you read what I wrote I said you both.
Rant at the sky is a bit rich. You have no idea if Ashworth "didnt care about ETH's opinion on McTominay" or he "has kept him in the dark over Sancho."
That was my point. You are assuming this from what he said, but do you honestly expect him to say different? I.e he was glad McT went or we really want to sell Sancho? Surely not.
He can’t use any more excuses this year. He’s been backed and got every single target for the positions he wanted. No more excuses! Coach these players to play decent football and as a unit!
For anyone who followed his work at Ajax, it was hard not to be highly impressed: style and titles and going deep in European competitions which Ajax hadn't achieved for a while. Personally I was far more impressed by what he achieved than what Poch had done, though impressive as well. For me, Poch just gave off a feeling of "won't quite make it at a top club with title ambitions" which ten Hag didn't, subjective I guess.
I don't think our midfield or attackers are good enough
That's just what you want to hear in a manager's 3rd season at the club.
Wouldn't have made any sense to start working towards this 2 years ago when he got the job.
Getting in his excuses nice and early I see.
For a man that constantly talks about raising the standards, he doesn’t half lower them when it comes to himself.
His European record outside Ajax's 2019 CL run and semifinal loss to Pochettino's Spurs isn't very impressive though. As time goes by its looking more like a one off and unlikely to be replicated here
This is not completely true though. There were some disappointments in the years after, moments of naivety, sometimes fecked by referees and stuff (a lot of the stuff that caused Fergie to win the CL only twice during his time here, it is very difficult to het far in the CL consistently).
However in his last season at Ajax, he won 6 group games in the CL, something only Real Madrid/Barca/City/Bayern at their best manage to do. To do that with Ajax is just crazy, and especially the manner in which it was done.
I remember Ajax playing Chelsea completely off the park in Stamford Bridge, only to be fecked by the referee in a disastrous way. I think Ajax was leading them 4-1 at one point, and it looked like it was gojng to be a beating.
He had to rebuild the 2019 team, and it happened almost seamless.
The hierarchy has visibly overturn him with McTominay sale